Louise is nearing 30 and seems to have nothing to show for it, except a plethora of empty wine bottles and a crippling anxiety and depression; through all of which she repeatedly claims that she is ‘fine’. Constantly being pushed towards finding a man and settling down, Louise shares with us, the audience, her desire to find happiness within herself instead.
Written by and starring Victoria Tunnah, the characterisation of this performance was clearly well thought out and studied. Tunnah’s portrayal of a Mancunian woman struggling in today’s society of uncertainty had a charm and believability that had the audience listening intently. Tunnah also did well to maintain her character and train of thought considering the many disturbances within the studio space throughout the 50 minute run time. She tripped over her words slightly at times when increasing her speed of speech, but this only added another level of realness to the character that made us sympathise with her even more.
The space of the studio is also a difficult one to perform in as there is no break or boundary between the performer and the audience. The structure of the room also means that the audience are lit throughout the performance, causing Tunnah to truly have to face her audience head on. The seating arrangement in this small space is therefore very cramped. With three rows of four seats, all audience members are required to be rather intimate with one another. And with the front row being a bench, the seating is also quite uncomfortable.
Tunnah must also be praised for her writing skills here; having studied creative writing as well as writing regularly for other avenues. Tunnah’s prose was witty, sharp and relevant and written in a wonderfully believable, conversational tone. And thanks to director, Josie Cerise Towart, her movements were natural and contained a good energy throughout. Nothing felt forced, which is in keeping with the writing style.
This is the second show in this year’s Manchester Fringe Festival I have seen this week that had an all-female cast and crew as the lights and sound were managed by Maia Terra. This is a joy to see from Bluestocking Theatre Company and from other productions too. This is not, however, a play made by women for women. The men in the audience also found humour and alarm in this production. This truly is a play which highlights women’s place (or lack of) in society and attempts to right that wrong. And it is carried out wonderfully by these three women.
Reviewer - Megan Relph
on - 20/7/19
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